Henry Croswell et al. in St John's Chapel, St John's Wood, London - 22 July, 1883, 07:00 PM
from Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell, page 345:
O[rgan]. – Was it a harmonium?
H[ymns]. – A. & M., an uninteresting selection.
C[hoir]. – Five surpliced boys on one side. The Curate sang solo on the other side! The music was Anglican.
[The congregation numbered] 35 – Extraordinary few there. Why are there not more? It is disgraceful. […]
S[ermon]. – […] We didn't stop.
[…]
M[iscellaneous]. – I think this is said to be very High and people don't come, therefore, to it. In what the High consists I can't see.
Henry Croswell, Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell. In British Library, number 000826807, C.194.c.113 , p. 345. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1552670397551 accessed: 7 November, 2024 (By permission of the British Library.)
Listeners
Listening to
hide composers| hymns selected from 'Hymns A&M' | performed by the choir and organist of St John's Chapel St John's Wood |
| Anglican church music | performed by the choir and organist of St John's Chapel St John's Wood |
Experience Information
| Date/Time | 22 July, 1883, 07:00 PM |
| Duration | 35 minutes |
| Medium | live |
| Listening Environment | in the company of others, indoors, in public |
Notes
Henry Croswell (1840–93) kept a record of his visits to churches in London over a period of more than twelve years (1872–85). He made methodical notes about the number of clergy, the churchmanship, the congregation, the sermon and the church architecture, as well as commenting on the music that he heard (the organ, the hymns and the choir). The above listening experience has been extracted from one of these records. ‘Hymns Ancient and Modern for use in the Services of the Church’ (1861; Appendix, 1868; Second edition, 1875; Supplement, 1889) was envisaged as an anthology of the best hymns available and became the most widely-used hymnbook in the Church of England during the late nineteenth century. William Henry Monk (1823–89) was musical editor.